Punja, Pumja, Puñja: 22 definitions
Introduction:
Punja means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
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In Hinduism
Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology)
Puñja (पुञ्ज) refers to a “clusters (of stars)”, according to the Bṛhatsaṃhitā (chapter 11), an encyclopedic Sanskrit work written by Varāhamihira mainly focusing on the science of ancient Indian astronomy astronomy (Jyotiṣa).—Accordingly, “The comets that resemble clusters of stars [i.e., tārā-puñja-nikāśa] are named Gaṇakā Ketus; they are 8 in number and are the sons of Prajāpati. Those that are oblongular in shape, are 204 in number and are the sons of Brahmā. The comets that resemble clusters of bamboo canes and that are as bright as the moon are named Kaṅkā Ketus; they are the sons of Varuṇa and are 32 in number. When they appear mankind will suffer miseries”.
Jyotisha (ज्योतिष, jyotiṣa or jyotish) refers to ‘astronomy’ or “Vedic astrology” and represents the fifth of the six Vedangas (additional sciences to be studied along with the Vedas). Jyotisha concerns itself with the study and prediction of the movements of celestial bodies, in order to calculate the auspicious time for rituals and ceremonies.
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Puñja (पुञ्ज) refers to “massive heaps (of fatal missiles)”, according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.4.10 (“Boasting of Tāraka”).—Accordingly, as Tāraka-Asura fought with Kārttikeya: “[...] Both appeared to possess plenty of practice. Both had the desire to gain the upper hand. Both fought on foot, had wonderful forms and features and were equally courageous. With massive heaps of fatal missiles (ghāta-puñja) they hit each other. They had various ways of attack. They roared. They exhibited their all exploits. The onlookers, the gods, the Gandharvas and the Kinnaras were much surprised. They did not speak anything there. [...]”.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Shyanika-shastra (the science of Hawking and Hunting)
Puñja (पुञ्ज) refers to “great (merit)”, according to the Śyainika-śāstra: a Sanskrit treatise dealing with the divisions and benefits of Hunting and Hawking, written by Rājā Rudradeva (or Candradeva) in possibly the 13th century.—Accordingly, “[...] If one’s merit is so great (sukṛta-puñja) that one can aim at the attainment of the highest object of desire, one should give up all activities and practise complete renouncement. It is known from the Śāstras that even the enjoyment of the fruits of action causes annihilation of the fruits of activity, as in the case of the wise Saubhari, who enjoyed the objects of his senses for the release from bondage. [...]”.
Shyanika-shastra (श्यैनिकशास्त्र, śyainikaśāstra) deals with ancient Indian skill of hawking/falconry (one of the ways of hunting) which were laid down in a systematic manner in various Sanskrit treatises. It also explains the philosophy behind how the pleasures derived from sense-experience could lead the way to liberation.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Puñja (पुञ्ज) refers to a “mass (of foam)”, according to the 11th century Jñānārṇava, a treatise on Jain Yoga in roughly 2200 Sanskrit verses composed by Śubhacandra.—Accordingly, “Fool , you must understand, in reality, substance is not acknowledged in a mass of foam (phena-puñja), the trunk of a plantain tree or in the body of human beings. The planets, moon, sun, stars and seasons go and come [but] certainly for embodied souls bodies do not [go and come] even in a dream”.
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
Languages of India and abroad
Pali-English dictionary
puñja : (m.) a heap; pile; mass.
Puñja, (usually —°) (cp. Epic Sk. puñja) a heap, pile, mass, multitude Vin. II, 211; J. I, 146 (sabba-rogānaṃ). As —° in foll. cpds. : aṭṭhi° It. 17 (+aṭṭhikandala); kaṭṭha° A. III, 408; IV, 72; J. II, 327; gūtha° J. II, 211; tiṇa° A. III, 408; palāla° D. I, 71; M. III, 3; A. I, 241; II, 210; maṃsa° D. I, 52; vālika° J. VI, 560; saṅkhāra° S. I, 135.
Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.
Marathi-English dictionary
puñja (पुंज).—m (S) A heap or mass; an accumulation or a collection. 2 A little heap of corn given annually by a khōta or dhārēkarī to the mahāra & gurava for service rendered.
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puñjā (पुंजा).—m (puñja) A quantity of yarn or thread wound over the palm. It consists of from sixty to eighty tantu or threads. 2 m N. D. A little heap (as of dung, dirt, ashes, sweepings, rubbish): also a mass or quantity of chaffy, worm-eaten, or rotting (grain, wood, cloth, or other material). The word, although from puñja S Heap generally, is applied restrictedly.
puñja (पुंज) [-puñjāḷa, -पुंजाळ].—m A heap or mass.
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puñjā (पुंजा).—m A quantity of yarn wound over the palm. A little heap.
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puñjā (पुंजा).—f Worship. pujā karaṇēṃ or ghālaṇēṃ To pommel or to rate soundly. pujā bāndhaṇēṃ To decorate an idol with flowers &c.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Puñja (पुञ्ज).—A heap, multitude, quantity, mass, collection; क्षीरोदवेलेव सफेनपुञ्जा (kṣīrodaveleva saphenapuñjā) Kumārasambhava 7.26; प्रत्युद्गच्छति मूर्च्छति स्थिरतमः पुञ्जे निकुञ्जे प्रियः (pratyudgacchati mūrcchati sthiratamaḥ puñje nikuñje priyaḥ) Gītagovinda 11.
Derivable forms: puñjaḥ (पुञ्जः).
Puñja (पुञ्ज).—m.
(-ñjaḥ) A heap, a quantity, a collection. E. puṃ man, jan to be born, aff. ḍa; also puṅga and puñji m.
(-ñjiḥ).
Puñja (पुञ्ज).—m. 1. A heap, a mass, Mahābhārata 3, 9957. 2. A quantity, Mark. P. 8, 82.
Puñja (पुञ्ज).—[masculine] heap, lump, mass, multitude of (—°).
Puñja (पुञ्ज):—m. (mostly ifc.; f(ā). ) a heap, mass, quantity, multitude, [Mahābhārata; Kāvya literature etc.]
Puñja (पुञ्ज):—(ñjaḥ) 1. m. A heap; a quantity.
Puñja (पुञ्ज):—m. [Siddhāntakaumudī.249,b,2 v. u.] Haufe, Klumpen, Masse [Amarakoṣa 2, 5, 42. 3, 4, 28, 216.] [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 1411.] [Halāyudha 4, 1.] añjana [Mahābhārata 3, 9931. 9, 2477.] phena [3, 9957.] saphenapuñjā adj. [Kumārasaṃbhava 7, 26.] pāṃśu, rajaḥ, parāga [Mahābhārata 5, 7246.] [Rājataraṅgiṇī 5, 74.] [Spr. 1750.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 35, 12.] [Varāhamihira’s Bṛhajjātaka S. 11, 25.] bhasma [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 115, 3.] kiñjalka [Rājataraṅgiṇī 4, 196.] ari [Prabodhacandrodaja 2, 4.] pakṣi [Mārkāṇḍeyapurāṇa 8, 82.] tejaḥ [Mahābhārata 5, 2525.] vidyut [Harivaṃśa 6840.] [Kathāsaritsāgara 1, 62. 3, 28.] timira [Gītagovinda 5, 11.] tamaḥ [11, 10.] śrī [Harivaṃśa 6154.] puṇya [PĀRŚVANĀTHAK.] bei [AUFR.] [Halāyudha] yaśaḥ Inschr. in [Journ. of the Am. Or. S. 7, 25,] [Śloka 6.] ānandodreka [RUDRAY.] in [Oxforder Handschriften 88,b,36.] — Vgl. nakhapuñjaphalā, hemapuñjaka .
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Puñja (पुञ्ज):—, prabhā [Kathāsaritsāgara 59, 2.] tejaḥ [111.] kṛtapuṇya [Bhāgavatapurāṇa 10, 12, 11.]
Puñja (पुञ्ज):—m. (adj. Comp. f. ā) Haufe , Klumpen , Masse , Menge (auch von immateriellen Dingen). Nom.abstr. tā f. [Vikramāṅkadevacarita 9,128.]
Puñja (पुञ्ज) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Puṃja, Vamāla.
Puñja (in Sanskrit) can be associated with the following Chinese terms:
1) 聚 [jù]: “aggregate”; “cluster”.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Puṃja (पुंज) [Also spelled punj]:—(nm) a heap, mass; cluster; collection, multitude.
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Prakrit-English dictionary
1) Puṃja (पुंज) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit words: Puñja, Puñja.
2) Puṃja (पुंज) also relates to the Sanskrit word: Puñja.
Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.
Kannada-English dictionary
Puṃja (ಪುಂಜ):—[noun] = ಪುಂಚೈ [pumcai].
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Puṃja (ಪುಂಜ):—
1) [noun] the male of the chicken; a cock; a rooster.
2) [noun] (fig.) a strong or able man.
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Puṃja (ಪುಂಜ):—
1) [noun] a multitute of things; a heap, collection.
2) [noun] collectively the silk threads running lengthwise in a loom.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Puñja (पुञ्ज):—n. heap; mass; aggregate;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with (+14): Pu-canarpu, Pumjagol, Pumjaia, Puncai-melnancai, Puncai-parrukattu, Puncai-vanpayir, Puncai-varavunancai, Puncaimuttu, Puncainilam, Puncaipakayattu, Puncaivarttanai, Puncakkal, Puncakkalam, Puncal, Puncalam, Puncalatu, Puncali, Puncam, Puncamuttu, Puncan.
Full-text (+102): Punjashas, Tarapunja, Punjaraja, Vidyutpunja, Katthapunja, Mamsapunja, Kilesapunja, Valikapunja, Punchi, Rashmipunja, Arupadhammapunja, Itthakapunja, Padumapunja, Asucipunja, Mahaguthapunja, Mattikapunja, Tulapunja, Charikapunja, Guthapunja, Kahapanapunja.
Relevant text
Search found 29 books and stories containing Punja, Pumja, Puṃja, Puñja, Puñjā; (plurals include: Punjas, Pumjas, Puṃjas, Puñjas, Puñjās). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Dictionaries of Indian languages (Kosha)
Page 266 < [Hindi-Bengali-English Volume 2]
Page 369 < [Bengali-Hindi-English, Volume 3]
Page 236 < [Hindi-Assamese-English Volume 3]
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (commentary) (by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyana Gosvāmī Mahārāja)
Verse 2.3.32 < [Chapter 3 - Bhajana (loving service)]
Verse 2.3.39 < [Chapter 3 - Bhajana (loving service)]
Verse 2.2.146 < [Chapter 2 - Jñāna (knowledge)]
Sahitya-kaumudi by Baladeva Vidyabhushana (by Gaurapada Dāsa)
Text 10.32 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Text 7.48 < [Chapter 7 - Literary Faults]
Text 10.63 < [Chapter 10 - Ornaments of Meaning]
Krishna Sandarbha of Jiva Goswami (by Kusakratha Prabhu)
Verse 183.5 < [Anuccheda 183]
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 2.17.33 < [Chapter 17 - The Meeting of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa]
Verse 2.25.2 < [Chapter 25 - The Rāsa-dance Pastime]
Verses 2.11.35-37 < [Chapter 11 - The Liberation of Dhenukāsura]
Rural and Agricultural Glossary (by William Crooke)
Page 246 < [Rural and Architectural Glossary (pages)]